Man's patience:

Jesus keeping of commandment:

Jesus keeping of faith:

there will be those that come to Him, that will deny themselves finding their life in Him

there will be those that deny Him, protect the lives that they have outside of Christ thus to lose their souls

there will be those present that will see Him coming in His kingdom

Jesus' patience:

Much is left in future tense. The sign the Sadducee and Pharisees tempt Him to see (Him in His kingdom) takes much more than they know and will require something of them they would not know that they were capable of.

Notes:

The denial of self/bearing of one's cross is being suggested to a group of men that have already given much of themselves to be here at this point with Jesus. Giving of one's time and vocation, while part of, is not the same as the losing of one's life. In the immediate case it involves getting behind Jesus, allowing Him to do what He needs to get done, to not presume to know what is to follow and what needs or needs not occur. It means to lay aside the offense that yet remains between ourselves and our Lord.

Coming in His Father's glory with His angels may be meant to be similar yet different from coming in His kingdom as it has been divided by what people of that very time would and would not see before their own deaths. Some did see His transfiguration. Some did see His ascension. Some did see the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. And one beloved did see the fuller revelation of the coming final days. No one to this day has seen Him in His Father's glory with angels.

Nothing in all the world could be given by a man in exchange for his soul. What is his to give? Yet the Son of Man gave something of His in exchange for all men's souls. As Son of God through whom all things were created are not all things His? Has He not given all things then in the form of His own life? And for what? Our souls? Who shall it be then to attempt to out bid Christ Jesus?

In that we have nothing to give that is not already His, the losing of our life to find it appears detached from our giving of it in exchange. Perhaps it is not of us to give it, but to follow it; to where ever it is found.

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

That somehow we know better than the Lord, enough to tell Him to His face what should and should not occur, even with the best human intention.

That a seemingly unfulfilled prophecy of His could mean but the one thing critics most want it to mean, after everything else that has been fulfilled; fulfilled often in the most unpredictable ways.When have His critics been right elsewhere?

Plenty of adjustments can be made to our lifestyle to make it feel as if we have given and have followed. Plenty of weight and suffering can be carried to make it feel that have born. It does not mean however that such has actually been done. If we feel that way it more likely indicates that we actually haven't.